James Hetfield has joined Zac Efron in the upcoming Ted Bundy biopic 'Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile'.

James Hetfield has joined the cast of the Ted Bundy biopic 'Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile'.

The 54-year-old Metallica frontman will take on his first dramatic role as Officer Bob Hayward, the Utah highway patrol veteran who was the first officer to arrest the notorious serial killer in 1975, when he pulled over the mass murderer and discovered burglary tools in his car but suspected much worse.

Director Joe Berlinger - who has previously used Metallica's music in three 'Paradise Lost' films and co-directed 2004 documentary 'Some Kind of Monster' about the band - is thrilled to have the charismatic musician on board for his project.

He said in a statement: ''Having spent hundreds of hours behind the scenes with James and the rest of Metallica, I have experienced his charisma and powerful presence close up.

''It seemed only natural that he would bring that same power and magnetism to a dramatic role, so when he agreed to my pitch that he be in the movie, I was thrilled.''

Hetfield joins Zac Efron - who will star as the serial killer - alongside 'Big Bang Theory' star Jim Parsons, who was recently announced to be cast as Larry Simpson, the lead prosecutor in the 1979 Miami trial that convicted Bundy of his crimes.

Other previously announced cast members include Lily Collins, who is set to play Bundy's girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer, and Kaya Scodelario as his ex-wife Carole Ann Boone, with whom he had a lasting relationship with up until the trial which saw him sentenced.

John Malkovich will play Judge Edward Cowart who presided over the 1979 trial, and Angela Sarafyan and Grace Victoria Cox are also part of the cast.

It will tell the shocking true story of Bundy, who raped and murdered numerous young women during a killing spree in the 1970s that shocked America and the world.

Bundy chose to represent himself at the trial, which was broadcast on national television, and appeared to develop something of a rapport with the judge.

The script has been written by Michael Werwie and is thought to explore the crimes of the killer through the eyes of Bundy's girlfriend.

Filming has already begun on the production in Covington, Kentucky, and 30-year-old Efron has given fans a sneak peak of his role with two behind the scenes photos.

As of the time of writing, no release date has been set for the movie.